Minister Of National Defense Ahn Gyubaek Tells Opposition Lawmaker Who Said "The Armed Forces Are Attending To Kim Jong-un's Mood" To "Apologize For Outrageous Remarks"

"An Act of Betrayal Against the Military"

On February 10, Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyubaek called on an opposition lawmaker who had claimed that "the armed forces are attending to Kim Jong-un's mood" to "apologize to the military and the people for his outrageous remarks."

In a post uploaded to his social networking service (SNS) account the same day, Minister Ahn requested an apology, saying, "Even at this very moment, our forces are defending the homeland on land, at sea, and in the air, and I ask that you immediately stop this act of betrayal against them."

Having returned from an official defense diplomacy trip to Saudi Arabia, Minister Ahn referred to remarks made by Park Chungkwon, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, saying, "I was briefed that something embarrassing had happened in the National Assembly," and adding, "How could anyone dare to say such things about our armed forces?"

Ahn Gyubaek, Minister of National Defense. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Minister Ahn stated, "Government policies can be criticized, and ministers can be criticized as well. But there are limits and boundaries to everything," and continued, "Words that would hardly be heard even in a marketplace must not appear in a plenary interpellation session at the National Assembly."

He went on, "As Minister of National Defense, I say this unequivocally: in the past, now, and in the future, our armed forces have devoted themselves, and will continue to devote themselves, solely to the safety and well-being of the state and the people," adding, "They will walk the path of soldiers, attending only to the sentiments of the people."

He continued, "If he recognizes the gravity of his position, I call on Representative Park Chungkwon, who made those remarks, to stop offering further excuses and to apologize to the military and the people for his outrageous comments," adding, "That would be the bare minimum of courtesy owed to the people who elected him as a member of the National Assembly."

Representative Park Chungkwon of the People Power Party said during a plenary interpellation session the previous day that the armed forces were not properly performing their original mission of deterring North Korea's threats, and told Prime Minister Kim Minseok, "The military has no capability to recognize threats, no countermeasures, no discipline, no training, it has nothing at all, and the only thing it does have is attending to the mood of Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea."